Noodler's Socrates is part of the UK Series of inks from Nathan Tardif. It's a dusty, pinkish-purple that claims the bulletproof, eternal, forge-resistant and water-resistant associations from the Noodler's ink property list.

Named assumedly for the ancient Greek philosopher, Socrates didn't speak to me much as far as the color. It was surprised by how the ink behaved on the paper when writing with it. It seems to almost instantly seep into the paper and loose almost all of its vibrancy as it dries. In looking at the ink itself in bottle form you'd think it would be a nice vibrant purple, but that's oddly not the case. Despite that, it's still a very unique dusty purple.

Socrates behaves quite well on good paper. It does have quite a bit of spread, which can be bothersome for some - I'm not a big fan of that myself. It doesn't feather, though, and I didn't notice any bleedthrough or ghosting even with my 1.1 stub.

No ink that I've seen so far compares to the color of Socrates. In swab form, it looks more vibrant than it does on paper.

I can't say I'd ever buy a full bottle of Socrates, but that doesn't mean it's a bad ink. If you're interested in one yourself you'll get 3oz for $12.50.